LITERACY CAMPS
It is difficult for women to come regularly to the centres. And even when they do, learning is often interrupted by a never-ending stream of demands – family members calling them back home, a crying child, cattle that needs tending to, fodder to be gathered and so on. To overcome some of these problems the programme organises two types of camps – residential camps at a common place away from the village and day-long camps at the village level.

Residential Camps
10-day residential literacy camps are planned during the agriculturally lean periods. At the camps, an intensive teaching-learning environment is created. Interactive exercises, games and role plays are used. Teaching is done in groups organised according to participants’ levels. In the evenings sessions on issues like gender or health are held. Away from their responsibilities, the women and girls are able to focus on furthering their learning. The camps have succeeded in accelerating learning and enabling in-depth discussions.

Sometimes camps are organised around a particular theme – for example legal rights or health – or to address the needs of a particular group, for example for women and girls who have moved beyond learning basic literacy skills. Each camp has at least 30 learners. Over the past 5 years, 21 residential camps have been organised which have been attended by at least 600 women and adolescent girls.
A day at a camp: Excerpts from field notes
It is one in the morning. We are still going strong. Plans for the next day are being made – ‘What should I do in the language session for the more advanced learners? Can some one please tell me some new activity to teach place value? I don’t know what to do! Parvati – she has moved in the language group? Hey! You can’t give me the morning duty two days in a row!’ We hear a soft voice from behind the door, ‘Didi, can I have a sheet of paper, I need to write a letter!’ The didi closest to the door storms out waving a sheet of paper, ‘Jaleb! This is no time to write. You will be sleeping and not writing during the session tomorrow!’ ‘When we sleep, stop teaching and make us play a game!’ replies Jaleb. Lots of giggles follow.
Soon, it is dawn. ‘Meena didi wake up! It’s your duty today’. The women have to be taken to the river for their morning ablutions. Those of us who do not have the dreaded morning duty can snatch half-an-hour’s extra sleep! Bathed, hair oiled and combed, the women quickly have breakfast. The morning meeting begins. It’s letter-reading time. Every night women write letters and put them in a letterbox. So what did Jaleb write at 1 am? Well, she is just beginner so she has written a long list of names and copied some words. Others have thanked their didis, or complained about a fellow participant.
It’s time for the language session. Women divide up into groups. Each group has learners at similar levels and every night at the planning meeting the groups are re-organised. Soon it is lunchtime, followed by a break for a couple of hours. But not everyone rests … some have to plan their maths session and some women just can’t get enough of their books. Break time is when family members can visit and we have some visitors today.
The post-lunch maths session is fun for one group. A make-shift shop has been set up and women are busy shopping and selling. But things aren’t as lively in the other group. I see some women nodding off in the session on addition.
After tea it’s time for the creative session. The women and girls are really excited. They are going to see a movie. It’s a popular film that we will use to discuss various issues around gender, caste and discrimination. The film is over but women are in no mood to have a discussion. So that is put off till the morning. But everyone is ready for dinner. And I am not sure I can deal with another really late night … five more days of the camp remain.

Village-level Camps
In 2004 the programme experimented with running village-level literacy camps. The impetus for this came from a desire to combine the strengths of the residential literacy camps, which enable accelerated learning, with local specificities. We felt that moving to the village level might ensure greater participation of women who are otherwise unable to attend residential camps, at least not on a regular basis.

These camps are held over five to seven days. A group of two or three facilitators and resource persons go and stay in the village. The dates for the camps are decided in consultation with the women, who share the responsibilities of hosting the team. As part of the programme strategy, a festive atmosphere is created in the village. Classes are held through the day and interactive meetings in the evenings. Often men join in these meetings. The response to these camps has been very enthusiastic. Village-level camps are the main strategy in the continuing learning programme.